Geneva (ICRC) - Millions of people
affected by armed conflict have become more vulnerable because of the combined
effects of war, natural disasters and continued high food prices, the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said today.

As the end of 2007 nears, the number
of people the World Food Programme is seeking to support has risen to 83
million. The amount of food assistance required to assist these people
is valued at US$3.4 billion. Considering resources mobilized thus far in
2007, the current level of funding falls short by some US$653 million.

Additional resources amounting to approximately
US$800 million are required before the end of 2007 to ensure uninterrupted
food aid deliveries for ongoing activities.

President Bush signed the Senator Paul
Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (the Act) on December 1, 2005. The
Act sets out as a central goal the provision of affordable and equitable
access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries as a key component
of U.S. foreign assistance programs. It requires the Secretary of State,
in consultation with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
and other U.S.

UNHCR's Global Appeal is published yearly
to alert governmental and private sector donors, Executive Committee (ExCom)
members and Standing Committee observers, Governments and their Permanent
Missions in Geneva, the UN Secretariat, UN agencies, intergovernmental
agencies, NGOs, regional organizations and other institutions and interested
individuals to the plight of millions of refugees and others of concern
to UNHCR.